Tape and ribbon tension guide attachment for sewing machines



July 13, 1954 so Do 2,683,430

TAPE AND RIBBON TENSION GUIDE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed May2, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 5' 4 LEONARD S'OLDO AfiORNEY y 1954SOLDO 2,683,430

TAPE AND RIBBON TENSION GUIDE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed May2, 1950 2, Sheets-Sheet 2 gl 4e INVENTOR. LEONARD SOLDO BY M"? WMATTORNEY Patented July 13, 1954 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE LeonardSoldo, New York, N. Y.

Application May 2, 1950, Serial No. 159,475

9 Claims. 1

The present inventionrelates to an attachment for asewing machine bymeans of. which a :tape or ribbon may be fed and guided under propertension to the needle and sewed as 'a binding or decoration on agarment.

Heretofore, tape-or ribbon from a spool thereof was fed to the needle ofa sewing machine and sewed upon a garment as a binding or edging. Thepresent invention therefore contemplates the provision of a tape andribbon guiding means which may be detachably mounted in position onvarious types ormakes of sewing machines and on whichmeans may bearranged a spool or. the like ofthe tape" or ribbon that is to be sewedon the: garment.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a member thatcarries the spool of tape or ribbon for rotation thereon and whichmember'with the spool may be easily removably positioned on the meansand held rigidly thereon so tapeor ribbon, after it was cut, remained inthe tube guide and had to be pulled out therefrom and then again outclose to the garment. The presser foot guide of the present invention onthe other hand permits ready cutting of the tape or ribbon at thegarment so that a uniform binding or decoration may easily be obtainedwith the present invention.

The attachment of the present invention is so designed and constructedthat it may be used for either an axially elongated spool of tape or anarrow spool of ribbon.

The present invention further contemplates the provision of anattachmentwhich is comparatively simple in construction and which may be easilyassembled without riveting or welding the parts together and which isrelatively inexpensive and simple to manufacture.

These, other and further--objects,.-uses and advantages of the presentinvention will be clear from the description which follows andthedrawing appended thereto, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an attachment embodying my inventiondetachably mountedon the head of a sewing machine which machine is onlypartially shown.

Fig. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of spool carrying frameand tension controlled tape or ribbon guide according to my invention.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a presser foot to be used in combinationwith the spool carrying and tape or ribbon guiding means illustrated indetail in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the presser foot illustrated in Fig. 4.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 3inc., my attachment com prises the frame on which the spool ID of tape12 is mounted and which frame is formed by the side members [4 and !6which members are assembled and held together by the counter sunk headscrew-l8 and the nut 20.

The member I4 is bent to form the upper upright or shoulder 22, theintermediate inclined toward the center of the frame element 24 and thelower upright 26.

The member IE is bent to form the upper upright or shoulder 28, theintermediate portion thereof is inclined toward the center of the frameelement 36 and the lower upright 32.

Thus, when the frame members Hi and it are assembled and securedtogether, there is formed. a yoke attachment on which the spool of tapeor ribbon iscarried.

The lower upright 26 on one of the members i4 is longer than thecorresponding lower upright 32 on the other member [6 to thereby form ashoulder against which the horizontal arm 3 of the tape or ribbontension guide, to which further reference will be made hereinafter, ispositioned when the tension guide is assembled on the frame and:heldagainst the lower upright '26 by means of the counter sunk headscrewtfi is only partially illustrated for an understanding of myinvention.

Each upper upright or shoulder'22 and '28' is slotted-at- 46 and 48-toreceivetherein the rod 59 on which the spool 40 of tape 12 is mounted.

The ends of the rod 50 are preferably slotted at 52 and 54 so that whenthe rod is pressed into the slots 46 and 48 on the upper uprights, it(the rod) will not rotate in the frame when the tape is unwound from thespool by the sewing operation.

When a narrow spool of ribbon is used, I prefer to use a flat bar (whichneed not be shown) instead of the rod 50 so that the narrow spool willnot spin too fast on the bar, the flat sides of which reduce the speedat which thespool moves thereon as the ribbon is pulled off of it duringthe sewing operation.

In order to provide a member against which the tape or ribbon I2 istensioned as it is fed from the spool into the guiding means, generallyindicated by the reference character 56 (see Fig. 2), I secure in theframe, the rod 58, positioned below the spool carrying rod 50, as bymeans of the nuts 68 and 62 (see Fig. 1), it being understood that theends of the rod 58 are threaded to receive these nuts and that the upperuprights 22 and 28 are apertured to receive the ends of the rod.

The horizontal arm 34 of the tension controlled guiding means 56 is bentto form the stationary back plate 60 and integral arms GI and I53, whichare disposed in front of the spool supporting or carrying frame justdescribed.

The movable front plate 62 of the guide means 56 is urged against theback plate 6t by the expanding spring 6d, mounted on the bolt 65, whichextends through the back and front plates.

The tension with which the front plate 62 is held against the back plate50, may be adjusted by the knurled head 68 on the bolt 66 on whichlatter is threaded the retaining nut It! by means of which the bolt 66is held on the back plate.

Secured to the front plate 62 are the rivets I2 and M which extendthrough suitable openings in the back plate 6i! and serve as a guidingmeans for movement of the front plate 652 away from and against the backplate.

To thread the tape or ribbon through the guide means 56, the front plate62 is grasped by means of the lips it and I2, at each end of the frontplate and the front plate separated from the back plate, against thetension of the spring 64.

The tape or ribbon I2 is passed from the rear of the lower rod 58through the eye 86 extending up from the back plate ti] on one side(here, the left as viewed in Fig. 2) of the back plate 6i! through thespace formed by the separation of the two plates.

After the tape or ribbon is inserted between the two plates, the frontplate 62 is released and is forced by the spring 65 against the backplate ti} to hold the ribbon or tape I2 therebetween.

A comparatively wide ribbon (not illustrated) may be used with myattachment in which case a comparatively narrow spool is mounted on theframe by the use of a flat bar, as heretofore referred to. In such case,the ribbon is threaded from the back of the lower rod 58 through theother eye 82 on the other side of the bolt 68 (here, to the right asviewed in Fig. 2).

In order to properly center the guide means 56 on the supporting frame,the intermediate element 24 is somewhat shorter than the intermediateelement 38 so that the attachment will be suitable for a relatively widespool It or a narrow spool (not illustrated).

In either case, the spool is held on the rod 59 between the collars 8dand 8B, which are held on the rod 56 by means of the set screws 88 and90.

In order to properly hold the spool in position on the rod, I preferablyprovide the expanding spring 92 extending from the collar 84 and whichurges the washer 94 against the side of the spool.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, I have there shown a presser foot 98,which is preferably used with my attachment just described, although itwill be understood that conventional or other presser feet may be used.

The presser foot 96 is provided with the open groove or slot 98 in whichis received a presser bar, of the type usually found in a sewing machineand which presser foot is secured thereto in the conventional manner, asby a set screw.

At the end of the presser foot, I provide groove I00 formed by thespaced opposed fingers I92 and led and through which groove I00 the tapeor ribbon I2 is threaded to pass underneath the plate I06 of the presserfoot.

It will of course be understood that presser feet 96 having grooves I00of different widths to accommodate different widths of tape or ribbonmay be used.

I prefer to provide an opening I08 in the presser foot plate I96 that iseccentric or off center so that the tape or ribbon is sewed to thegarment closer to the right hand edge of the tape or ribbon, as viewedin Fig. 4.

The needle I ID of the sewing machine is. reciprocated through theopening I08 to sew the tape or ribbon to the garment as it is fedthereto under the plate I66. It will be recognized that it isunnecessary to guide the tape or ribbon to the garment since the grooveI insures that this will be done because the tape or ribbon is fed underthe plate I08 away from the groove HID in the direction of movement ofthe work and the tape or ribbon as it is sewed is carried along with thework as it is being moved away from the needle.

Since the groove I09 is open at the front of the plate Its, the tape orribbon can be out very easily and the garment immediately trimmedwithout movement of the work away from the presser plate to thus saveboth time and material.

The tension imposed on the tape or ribbon by the guide means 56 and thelower rod 58, which is in back of the guide means, cooperate to preventinadvertent rapid rotation of the spool and resulting unwinding of thetape or ribbon therefrom.

It will be recognized that I have provided a relatively simple andinexpensive tape or ribbon tension controlled guide which may bedetachably mounted in position on various types of available sewingmachines and which guide permits savings in labor and material.

While I have shown in detail a specific embodiment of my invention, I donot intend to be limited thereto but wish to claim my invention asbroadly as the scope of the prior art and the appended claims permit.

I claim:

1. A tape and ribbon guide for attachment to a machine comprising aframe, said frame formed from a pair of side members held together, eachside member comprising an upper element, an intermediate elementinclined to the inside of the frame and a lower supporting element,means for holding together said supporting elements, said upper elementsat the top thereof having open ended slots, a cross rod for mountingthereon a spool of tape or ribbon, a second cross rod secured to theupper elements above the intermediate elements, an arm -detachablysecuredto a lower supporting element at right angles'thereto, astationaryplate on said armpositioned front of the supporting elementand parallel to the frame, a movable plate mountedon-the stationaryplate, and tension means for-normallyholding the movable plate againstthe stationary plate, said movable plate separablefrom the stationaryplate against said tension-means 2. The guide of claim 1 and includingan eye upstanding from the stationary plate.

3. A tape andribbonguide'for mounting on a sewing machine, said tape andribbon guide adapted to be removably mounted on a sewing machine abovethe presser foot, said guide comprising a frame having two members, eachof said members formed from spaced vertical elements having slots at theupper ends thereof and bent toward each other into second verticalelements abutting, means to secure said second element together to formthe frame, a cross rod for operatively mounting thereon a spool of tapeor ribbon, said cross rod having its ends received in said slots, asecond cross rod mounted on the first mentioned vertical elements belowthe first mentioned cross rod and above the second mentioned verticalelements, said second mentioned vertical elements positioned at thecenter of the frame, a tape or ribbon tension guide, said guide having ahorizontal arm threadably mounted on the second mentioned verticalelements, said horizontal arm extending into a back plate positioned infront of the second vertical element above the presser plate and invertical alignment therewith, a front plate movably mounted on the backplate, tension means urging the front plate against the back plate, thecenter of the tension guide aligned with the second vertical element.

4. A tape and ribbon guide for detachably mounting on a sewing machineand comprising members held together, said members forming a frame, eachmember forming the frame having a vertical upper element bentintermediately to continue into a lower vertical element at the centerof the frame, said lower vertical elements being secured together, meansfor removably mounting thereon a spool of tape or ribbon, a

cross rod secured to the upper vertical elements a above the lowervertical elements and a tension controlled guide detachably mounted onthe lower vertical elements, one of said lower vertical elements beingformed with a shoulder, a horizontal arm in said guide secured to alower vertical element against the shoulder formed by the other verticalelement, said arm extending into a plate member positioned in front ofthe frame, a second plate tensioned against the first plate.

5. A tape and ribbon guide comprising substantially a Y-shaped framecomprising arms and shank, an extending arm attached to the shank ofsaid frame and having a polygonal shaped extension on the end thereof,said Y-shaped frame having two horizontal members spaced above eachother and interconnecting the arms of said frame, and said polygonalextension on V the end of said arm comprising a three sided figure, oneside thereof being in a plane perpendicular to that of the said arm andbeing, spaced from said arm, a bar detachably and springly secured tothe front surface of said side forming a space between said bar andfront surface of said side through which tape or ribbon passes,

said' Y-shaped frame comprising members hay ing vertical, spacedupwardly extending shoulders, oblique inwardly extending portions bentfrom the ends thereof, and lower, vertical extending uprights bent fromthe ends of said oblique portions, said lower uprights being injuxtaposition and joined together to formthe said shank, said armattached to said shank below the point where the said lower uprights arejoined together.

6. A tape and...ribbon.guide comprising substantially a Y-shaped frame,comprising arms and shank, an extending arm attachedltonthe shank ofsaid frame and having a polygonal shaped extension on the end thereof,said Y- shaped frame having two horizontal members spaced above eachother and interconnecting the arms of said frame, and said polygonalextension on the end of said arm comprising a three sided figure, oneside thereof being in a plane perpendicular to that of the said arm andbeing spaced from said arm, a bar detachably and springly secured to thefront surface of said side, to form a space between said bar and frontsurface of said side through which tape or ribbon passes, said Y-shapedframe comprising members maving vertical, spaced upwardly extendingshoulders, oblique inwardly extending portions bent from the endsthereof, and lower, vertical extending uprights bent from the ends ofsaid oblique portions, said lower uprights being in juxtaposition andjoined together to form the said shank, said arm attached to said shankbelow the point where the said lower uprights are joined together, andsaid vertical, upwardly extending shoulders each having a longitudinalslot at its end, said upper horizontal member fitting into said slots onthe shoulder ends and comprising a rod, means on said rod to preventrotation of said rod relative to said shoulders, slidable collars onsaid rod, capable of being tightly secured to said rod by means of setscrews, an expanding slidable, spring attached at one end to a collarand a slidable washer at the other end of said spring, whereby arotating spool may be inserted on said rod between a collar and thewasher at the end of the spring attached to the other collar, saidcollars being adapted to be tightened to the rod and said springexpanding to press said washer against the said spool to securely holdit in position.

'7. A tape and ribbon guide for attachment to a sewing machine,comprising a frame, a shaft mounted on said frame, whereby a spool oftape or ribbon may be rotatably mounted on said shaft, means toresiliently retard rotation of the spool on said shaft, means to attachthe frame to the head of the sewing machine, a guide member attached tothe frame, and comprising a stationary back plate, the tape or ribbonfrom the spool being adapted to contact the front of the back plate, amovable front plate mounted on the back plate for movement toward andaway therefrom, and spring means to press the movable plate toward theback plate for frictionally gripping the tape or ribbon which contactsthe front of the back plate, said frame comprising a pair of upstandingspaced arms formed with notches at their upper ends, and said shafthaving portions non-rotatably and non-longitudinally slidable receivedin said notches, but

permitting the shaft to be lifted up relative to said frame.

8. The combination of claim 7, in combination with a cross bar mountedon said frame 7 and below said shaft, whereby the tape or ribbon comingfrom the spool may be passed to the back of said cross bar before itpasses forwardly to the guiding means.

9. The combination of claim 8, in combination with a loop fixed to thestationary plate, through which the ribbon passes before it contacts thefront of the back plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberNumber 8 Name Date Pearce Feb. 19, 1901 Fleigel May 24, 1910 Berger Aug.22, 1916 Gray July 31, 1923 Rhyon Feb. 18, 1925 Christensen Oct. 8, 1929Weis July 28, 1931 Halberg et a1 Oct. 27, 1931 Karle Mar. 14, 1933Thompson et a1. Oct. 10, 1939 Kucera May 6, 1941 Leiger Apr. 26, 1949

